Here are the comments about the mission. Thank you to everyone who played it and praised/criticised WtUL :)
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The little details on this mission are fantastic! The tomb is very cool and eerie. Very creative stuff and you sure do know how to create fantastical things! I hope you keep making missions down the road. :)
However, the gameplay is a bit lacking. It's very mundane and incredibly easy, and devolves into a small key hunt (at least regarding the main objectives). Story was also a bit dry and the premise felt very thrown together at the last minute.
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Atmosphere is great in the optional region - just my style and taste.
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I thought this was going to be a regular, cool looking castle/mansion mission. Pranked! Odd design choice aside, this was a great looking mission with solid gameplay and story.
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A classic looking mission which worth being played.
The mansion is supposed to look empty and it succeed on its task. The architecture is well-made and pretty interesting, the author knows his job, nothing to really complain about, even for the catacombs part.
The gameplay is balanced and the mission gives absolutely no frustration (even if I've never been able to find the knight's leg and made time to understand those flying moving parts were items to take since they look pretty threatening). Anyway, still very good overall.
The plot itself is correct but perhaps a bit too classic : empty mansion with some secrets underneath. And here comes two things that disturbed me a bit :
-First : why a classic hammerite bonehoard we've seen many times while the mansion was talking about a background about a king and traitors. Why having not made a bonehoard with a theme corresponding to those who does not betrayed? It would have been more original as the mission personnality would have been amplified a lot, making it even more memorable!
I nevertheless reconize that mechanist raiding a tomb was a bright idea since it's not something that common!
-The second part which puzzled me more than the rest : just why? Why hidding 2/3 of the mission and making it optionnal when something very cool could have been done?
Such a thing change the secret into a real reward which would have never been expected by anyone and I really applaud that risk-taking. But it throws into the bin a lot of effort since some players may not explore it nor being aware about its existance.
These two things are those which shows the author is someone who is good to dromed and can do amazing mission but seems to not tame yet his/her potential. All I can say : keep going and do more things like that but really go further because you've got the skills for it!
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This was a nice little mission to breath (Maybe I missed sth. important ) but I still don't know where the unknown lurks?!
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Mansion was better than underground, but still good overall.
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What does represent the head of "worm" which is vomiting in the fountain?
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This was a real little masterpiece in terms of atmosphere, architecture and ambient design. Very tasteful and very enjoyable mission, supernice, unique area. I was almost jelaous that I cannot get ingame for a couple of beers in that garden (or the tower).
The optional part is a nice effort as well, however, after last year's contest Bonehoard-overdose, I did not enjoy it and the author's energy and time spent on a thousandth Bonehoard in the Thief Universe could have been used for something much better, considering the fact that He is able to create terrific atmosphere and top quality vibes with the layout, as seen in the castle section of the mission.
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Perfect mission, big secret that is 2/3 of the whole map took me by surprise. A few nice riddles and overall pleasant and atmosferic experience.
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On the surface, it seems to be a straightforward heist in a small yet gorgeous manor, but only once you start looking deeper (literally) does the best part of the mission reveal itself, even if it's entirely optional.
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I love underground missions - usually very atmospheric - but this one had some strange level design choices. Also not much of a plot here but a large optional part (this got +1 on gameplay).
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A mansion mission (the type I enjoy the most, though the lack of a map is a bit of a negative) that optionally and under certain circumstances evolves into a tomb mission (the type I enjoy the least). Personal preference aside, both aspects of the map are really well-made and the change of pace as a means to add variety is very much welcome. The mansion segment is a bit on the small side but features a decent amount of ways to approach it which is a big plus. The cathedral part is thankfully not as chaotic in design as the likes of Bonehoard and manages to be as creepy as it can get so good job on that. A solid, varied mission overall.
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Aesthetically pleasing and fun to explore. Quite odd that 3 quarters of the mission is optional, but it's all good fun.
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A deceptively complex mission. At first, it appears to be a relatively straightforward if well-designed mansion mission, with decent challenge but nothing too taxing. However, in a surprisingly optional extension the mission opens into a much more complex Bonehoard-like level.
The atmosphere is very solid. The mansion is very pretty, with good architecture and use of lighting. There's a hint of more even in the mansion - a few pagan-looking areas and such, but I didn't expect it to go quite as far as it did. The Bonehoard section is excellent, not least because it starts out in a Mechanist-occupied Hammer church.
In terms of gameplay, it's again strong. Nothing too unusual or challenging, and all the enemies are familiar enough. But it gets strong bonus points for the always welcome option of infighting between different factions. The body-part hunt was a little bit tricky due to it being unclear how many parts were needed.
Story is good - it seemed average until the twist. There's good development and a sense of continuity between places.
Overall, this is a great entry in the contest!
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Very good mission, the most interesting is the optional part but the mansion is nice and pretty, good job!
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Very well builded mansion, what a nice starting view. Very nice surprise to discover the crypt part. Nice work.
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The architecture of the mansion was nice but felt a bit strange for me, and the required part of the mission wasn't too big of a deal in my opinion.
But the Bonehoard-like area made up for it, thus this one was also quite fun.
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A very interesting approach to level design as the meat of the mission was easily bypassed and/or missed entirely.
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This appeared to be a small, simple mission until you find the Hammerite complex below. Nice "Bonehoard" feel and fun additional goals (Hammer, and releasing the spirit of a ghost by finding four corpse pieces). "Turn enemies into rats" an interesting idea for a weapon.
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Bold move with creating a huge and most interesting from gameplay point of view as optional. Which forces and reward player decision, making the whole gameplay more immersive, and hints Garrett may be a lazy, or doesn't go deeper once he realize his plan. Well made mission from technical level, and easy.
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The best in the competition in my opinion. The architecture is amazing. When I got the horn and the loot in the palace I thought it was over, but no, what I found underground was another entire mission sized compound. This FM combined mansion and horror type missions perfectly. Never got bored while playing which happens with me sometimes in other missions.
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16 minutes to finish on normal, map might be bigger and more loot
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Loved the idea that the other half of the level was a sidequest, and a great one at that! Gorgeous architecture throughout, classic Thief gameplay, great secrets. Absolutely thrilled to see more from this author!
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This was a quality mission with nice architecture! The mansion was small but very well done. Especially the room where the statue was pouring water in the pool, was very cool and looked much something that could have been in Constantine's Mansion! I would like see a lot more that kind of rooms!!
It was really unexpected that the whole underground area was optional. Then again, those who don't like undead, can just skip it. But for me, that area was very positive surprise! I've always liked Down in a Bonehoard style missions. Personally I liked that Mechanists were searching the artefact down there, because I think it's rare that Mechanists and undead fight each other.
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This was good, but kind of strange - you could complete the mission while missing a huge portion of it. I don't understand why the underground area was made optional, but at the same time it was a very pleasant surprise!
The combat/guards were nothing special, but they also never caused any frustration, so yay. Perfectly competent. But it was the way the mission unfolds that will be remembered most, I think.
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Loved the Walt Disney look of the mansion so was hoping for a more fantasy looking world inside but that aside it was a well built mansion that was easily robbed blind in 20 mins, but it's when you get to the underground area that the mission came to life if a little small in comparison to other bonehoard style missions. still the whole experience was fun and certainly deserves a second play through.
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I had fun exploring, and I loved going from a small mansion to a bone hoard type area.
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First you think: Oh, a short mission - but no.... Great!
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Review: (
https://www.ttlg.com/forums/showthread.php?t=124349&page=60&p=2450337&viewfull=1#post2450337)
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That 'extra bonus area' was... surprisingly large. The tiny 'necessary to complete mission' section was fantastic. I'm simply left with the feeling that the extra area needed to be more relevant to the mission, or much smaller in size. Which I feel odd saying, because I absolutely love secret areas. I'm just not used to there being but one, and having that one be a much larger mission all on its own. Collecting the body parts was great, though!
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There's a lot of rough edges, but this is made up for (and sometimes enhances) the creativity and style. It isn't quite bbb or StinkyKitty level, however, where the cruder elements really sell the atmosphere. The choices of shapes and textures was great, but more time could have been spent making architecture less messy (not less stylistic), and fixing dodgy texture alignment and wrapping. This would have made a creative experience even more immersive and convincing.
Biggest gameplay issue is the simplicity of the patrols. The choice to have so much of the mission as optional was unorthodox, but it worked out really well.
Thematically, it was very un-Thief 2, aside from the use of its assets. In places with T1 style, it wasn't a hybrid, but purely T1. This isn't really a dealbreaker, but it is unusual.
In general, the tombs could have had a few more rounds of detail. Some rooms and areas are almost completely devoid of decoration. The mansion is absolutely the centrepiece, and contains the unique aspects Skejven should develop further.
Overall, it is obviously a novice mission. But it shows the kind of latent skill and artistic ingenuity that even great authors never demonstrate. I'd encourage more new authors to make missions like this, not merely imitate established styles.
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This one took me by surprise. I was streaming this level with The_Legit_Count and we both spent about an hour exploring the very top of the level. We had no idea about the entire 90% of the level underneath. My only criticism is that it was supposed to reflect the look and feel of a Thief 2 mission and it felt more like I was playing Thief 1. Not a bad thing but this is Thief 2 after all and that's what people were supposed to be going for!
Overall, it was fun. I'm just glad we actually found the entrance to the underground, otherwise this review would be much shorter.
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Small mansion mission with very creative brushwork and an (optional!) large underground location at the end. Small but very creative.
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That was one hell of a unique mansion. Some really original architecture here, both interiors and exteriors, and I think it looked great. There were some uncommon texture choices here and there, but I think they fit the general “oddness” of the house. The mansion felt a bit claustrophobic, but in no place cluttered or crowded. Some really nice use of space here. This mission shows that a mansion can be small, but still look and work really well. I liked the toned use of light and shadow here. A minor grumble about the ambient music - it changed a bit too often for such a small location; perhaps selecting fewer, more intense ambient tracks would feel better.
No complaints about general gameplay. For such a small mission the author really fit something for everybody - classic thieving, rooftoping, secret hunts, undergrounds, and a nice, little, OPTIONAL puzzle, the last being the design choice I really appreciate and would like to see more often in FMs. Generally, the mission played smooth and well, with lots of curiosities and secrets to find. One guard got stuck on some ordinary object (a table or sth) which probably could have been avoided with more thorough testing, but that's nitpicking.
The overall frame for a story was quite convincing, if rather ordinary. I liked the use of a secondary fictional story to push the gameplay forward, but there was little depth besides that. I feel that, in terms of story, the mission would work better just as a simple mansion heist after all. The underground part seemed rather stretched and forced.
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This mission is impossible to discuss without spoilers - this one will restrict itself to *light* ones. The FM takes Garrett to a country estate for a routine burglary. Part of the fun here is in the place itself - it has its own identity that is quite different in look and feel from the places we have visited in Thief, and has an odd Finnish/Scandinavian look that's fresh and interesting. There are interesting ways to approach the FM along multiple routes, too - imperfectly, since the loot goals kind of require you to scour most of the place to succeed, but it is rather neat. However, the big thing about the mission is that it is not just what it first seems, and has a (lightly) hidden layer that changes a good many things about the way you see the place, and adds a lot to the play experience. This masquerade is set up well, and is very rewarding to see crop up during play. These concerns elevates the mission above mere mansion heist, and into a fun, intriguing experience that is mostly about exploration and discovery.
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I was ready for a let-down when I managed to tick off the main objective after about five minutes of gameplay, thinking that this new author must have spent all their time prettying up a short and unsatisfying mission, but sure enough there is more than it first seems. For the inquisitive or completionist player, this FM can be rather long and rewarding. If you're just looking to complete the objectives and leave, you won't get much out of it.
The construction of the mission is extremely impressive for a first-time author. Every corner has some unique or unconventional detail, buildings are set at angles, and the whole manor is built on top of a mountain which manages to look convincing. One might argue that most of it would feel more at place in a Thief 1 contest than a Thief 2 one, but I consider that a good thing.